ASSOCIATE JUSTICE WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS - DOCUMENT SIGNED 12/16/1968 - HFSID 254670

WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS
The well-respected justice gives his papers to the Library of Congress
Carbon Document signed: "William O. Douglas" in blue ink as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 2p, 8x10, separate sheets. 1968 December 16. Headed: "Instrument of Gift". In part: "I, William O. Douglas, with the intention of making a gift of a present interest, hereby give to the United States of America for inclusion in the collections in the Library of Congress and for administration therein by its authorities the following items of my Supreme Court files for the 1949, 1950, 1951, and 1952 Terms of Court…docket books…Conference notes and memoranda…office memoranda…files in each case assigned to me for a Court opinion…In the public interest, however, I request that the aforesaid property shall not be made available to the public during my lifetime…." William Orville Douglas (1898-1980) served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1937 to 1939, during which time President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him Associate Justice of the Supreme Court to succeed Louis D. Brandeis. Justice Douglas's service on the Court totaled 36 years and seven months, longer than any other justice up until that point. He retired in November 1975 and died five years later at the age of 81. He was strongly libertarian in his opinions, distrustful of establishments of all types, and considered himself a voice for the voiceless and powerless. His book, An Almanac of Liberty, was published in 1954. On thin paper, lightly creased. Staple holes at upper left blank corners. Otherwise, fine condition.